One has to wonder if the party could be over for an Ottawa promoter attempting to organize a series of boozy private Frosh Week events for first-year college and university students.

Already under fire for a video that seems to depict young men and women drinking and using marijuana — despite a disclaimer to the contrary — Jarett Lopez was accused Thursday of lifting clips for the video from Internet footage of an Alberta school’s frosh event. And the Alberta event in question, ironically, was non-alcoholic.

“I think it puts us in a bad light and it puts the University of Lethbridge in a bad light,” Sean Glyden, president of the Lethbridge school’s student union, told the Citizen on Thursday.

“I think it sends completely the wrong message because people think this is us when it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Glyden’s complaints weren’t the only problems for Lopez’s Aficionado Studios on Thursday. The University of Ottawa urged students to avoid frosh activities not organized by schools, and a nightclub operator said it has cancelled all Aficionado events.

In a statement, spokesman Matt Goulet said Tequila Jacks, Dodge City Country Saloon and the Dreammind Entertainment Group “do not condone the ‘Ottawa Frosh 2014 | Official Trailer’ video, (or) any of the activities portrayed therein.”

Posted online earlier this week, the video promotes an eight-day series of party events meant for post-secondary students across the city. Students pay $100 for access and receive a frosh “kit” that includes a shot glass, sunglasses and a permanent marker.

The video, set to Sum 41’s 2001 song In Too Deep, carries this disclaimer: “No alcohol or illegal substance is used during filming, just props.”

It quickly gained notoriety, however, after a University of Ottawa student leader said its depiction of scantily clad women and what appears to be excessive inebriation sent the wrong message to incoming students.

Clips of students frolicking on a huge water slide appear in both the Aficionado video and a video on the Alberta student group’s website showing a 2011 welcoming event. Other scenes in the Ottawa video, drawn from unknown sources, portray a beer bong, a woman in a white shirt being sprayed with water and an apparently drunk young man collapsing on a bathroom floor.

At one point a woman has a large handful of what appears to be marijuana buds in her hands. Seconds later, a woman lights what appears to be a joint, before kissing another woman and blowing smoke into her mouth.

Lopez could not be reached by phone Thursday and would only respond to requests for comment with a prepared statement issued earlier that called the video “a marketing technique.”

According to the statement, “Drug use, binge drinking & fake ids are not acceptable at Aficionado Studios, and our paid/reliable staff is prepared to handle these situations accordingly.”

Lopez calls himself “Black Jesus” and describes himself as a musician, DJ and photographer. He started a Facebook page for his promotions company in 2012 and appears to have organized several club events. The frosh week series is new.

Despite the nightclub cancellations, he appeared to be pressing ahead with the parties. On Facebook, he said a second promotional video will be released Saturday.

Fifth-year U of O student Liisa Steinwedel, who helps run the university’s orientation for first-year students, says the company is sending a dangerous message to incoming frosh.

“(They’re) promoting alcohol and substance abuse through this video to minors,” Steinwedel told the Citizen earlier this week. “The majority of the people that are going to buy these frosh kits are 17 and 18 and it’s completely unnecessary to promote that kind of culture to them.”

Steinwedel also said she has a problem with the video’s sexual content — in particular, the scantily clad women dancing and having pillow fights in bras and bikinis — which she says puts sexual pressure on women.

“Seeing a video like this, those students or girls are going to objectify themselves in that way,” she said.

The U of O urged first-year and returning students to attend orientation activities and events organized by their respective colleges or universities. “We share details about our institutions’ respective orientation weeks with students via email, mailed packages and/or school and student association websites,” it said.

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Ottawa clubs pull plug on private frosh week, university warns off students

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